Hedeeth # (1): Deeds are by Intentions

عن أَمِيرِ المُؤمِنِينَ أَبي حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بنِ الخطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: ” ما الأَعْمَالُ بالنِّيَّاتِ وإنَّما لكُلِّ امْرِىءٍ ما نَوَى، فَمَنْ كانَتْ

هِجْرَتُهُ إلى اللهِ ورَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلى اللهِ ورَسُولِهِ، ومَنْ كانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيا يُصِيبُها أو امْرأةٍ يَنْكِحُها فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلى ما هَاجَرَ إليه”.  رواهُ البُخَاريُّ ومُسْلِمُ

It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu’minin, Abu Hafs ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, (may Allah be pleased with him), said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him), saying: “Deeds are but by intentions. And every man will get what he intended. Thus,  he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration is for Allah and His messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or for a woman to marry, his migration is for which he migrated for.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

On what occasion was this Hadeeth said?

After Islam gained support in Madinah, Muslims were permitted to migrate to Madinah so that they can practice their religion safely. Those who migrated were promised a great reward of Hijra or migration. A man proposed to a woman called Um-Qais but she refused to marry him unless he migrated to Madinah.  Then he migrated and they got married. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked whether this man would get the same reward of Hijra as those who migrated for the sake of Allah, then his answer was this Hadeeth. Later on this man was given the title “Muhajer Um-Qais” i.e., the one who migrated for Um-Qais. It is worth to mention that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that there was no more Hijra after the conquest of Mecca.ytuytuyt

Explain why this Hadeeth is so important?

All scholars of Islam accepted this Hadeeth  and agreed upon its authenticity. Al-Bukhari opened his book, As-Saheeh, by this Hadeeth,  and made it an introduction for the book indicating that any deed that is not intended for Allah’s sake is ineffective and has no fruit both in this life and in the Hereafter.

This Hadeeth is regarded as one of the basics of the religion of Islam. Imam Ash-Shafi’e[1] said: “This Hadeeth comprises one third of Islamic knowledge, and seventy chapters of  Fiqh[2] depend upon it”

What is the meaning of Niyyah (Intention) in Arabic?

1) The wordy meaning of Niyyah (intention) in   Arabic is to have something in mind.

2) According to Islamic terminology, Niyyah (intention) is the conscious inner motive that distinguishes the purpose behind the action, whether it is for the sake of Allah or for any other sake.

3) Since motives generate the desire to act, it is common in Arabic to use the “desire”, “hope”, or “wish” as an alternatives for Niyyah.

What are the deeds implied by the Hadeeth?

The majority of scholars see that deeds here are general; they include acts of worship as well as ordinary actions such as eating, drinking, dressing, sleeping, selling, buying, fulfilling one’s job duties, .. etc.

What is the meaning of the phrase “Deeds are but by intentions.”

Deeds are judged according to the intentions behind them. It could also mean that the validity or acceptance of deeds depends on the intentions behind them.

Explain how one’s actions could be made entirely for Allah’s sake

Righteous intentions make our deeds sincere and hence valid and accepted by Allah. To achieve sincerity, we have to avoid shirk which is associating others with Allah which means not to do the righteous deeds for purposes other than the sake of Allah.

Sincerity for Allah and devotion for His sake are reflected in many forms, for example, our actions are done

• out of love of Allah and his messenger,
• to obey Allah and his messenger,
• to attain Allah’s pleasure,
• hoping for Allah’s reward, mercy, and forgiveness
• because of fearing His punishment and anger,
• to support His religion and His cause,
• with the hope to be admitted to the Paradise, and emancipated from the Fire

The Muslim must constantly check his intentions for insincerity in order to keep his righteous deeds entirely for Allah’s sake. What are the main causes of insincerity?

Causes of insincerity include :

• associating partners with Allah;
• diseases of the heart such as hypocrisy, showing off, dishonesty, or untruthfulness;
• seeking satisfaction of self-desires;
• seeking people’s pleasure;
• looking for rewards and returns from people such as help, services glorification, acknowledgement, or praises;
• looking for worldly benefits and self-interests such as money, promotion, leadership, position, or wealth;
• making one’s image appear good in the eyes of people to avoid being blamed by them.

What is the purpose of this Hadeeth ?

The purpose of this Hadeeth is to help us evaluate our outward actions. The reward or punishment associated with our action is not determined only by the nature of the action itself but also according to the purpose behind it. Therefore, the intention is an important factor in judging our actions. The action is accepted or rejected according to what is in our hearts.  The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah does not look at your bodies, nor does He look at your appearance, but He looks at your hearts”[3]^. It is our motivations that make the difference in this matter. The Muslim should be aware that wrong motivation behind a good action turns it into an evil deed.

1. What are the conditions for acceptance of an action by Allah?

In the light of the holy verse, “Whosoever hopes for meeting with  His Lord, let him do righteous work, and  in the worship of his Lord set  no one as partner”() , the scholars of Islam conclude that for any deed to be accepted by Allah and counted  as a good deed for us it must be free from any kind of inward or outward defects. The following two conditions must be fulfilled:

• It must be good in itself, according to the Quran and Sunnah (Shari’ah), i.e., a righteous deed.
• The intention behind it must be sincerely for pleasing Allah alone. It must not be associated with any sort of Shirk, hypocrisy, showing off, or any other wrong intentions.

Accordingly, in Islam good intentions do not justify wrong action or the good aim does not justify the wrong mean.

What does the phrase “And every man will get but what he intended” mean?

This phrase of the Hadeeth means that the share of every person from his actions depends upon what he intended. If he intended evil he will get evil and if he intended good he will get good. Assume somebody does an action which is apparently good but he intended evil, he will get his deed rejected, and receive no reward for it; and furthermore he might be punished for it.

1. Explain the phrase: “Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration is for Allah and His messenger”.

This is an example to confirm the previous meaning. Whosoever migrated from the land of disbelief, where it is not save for him to live and practice his religion, to the land of Islam, where he could practice his religion freely and safely, intending to support Allah and His messenger, his migration will be accepted  by Allah as a good deed and he will get the great reward of the Hijrah.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “… his migration is for Allah and His messenger..” to  emphasize that he will receive his full reward according to his intention. The holy Quran states that those who migrated for Allah then died in their way before reaching their destination, they will get the full reward of migration for the sake of Allah SWT.

1. Explain the phrase: “… and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or for a woman to marry, his migration is for which he migrated for“

And he whoever migrated from the land of disbelief intending nothing, but to achieve some worldly benefits or get married, he will only get the worldly benefits he intended and no reward from Allah will be associated with it. His migration will not be counted for him as a good deed because he did not intend to migrate for the sake of Allah. He will not be rewarded for it by more than the gains he earned in this world.

However, if he intended to achieve some worldly benefits or get married to keep himself away from evil, this will be accepted from him as a good deed, and he will be rewarded for this intention in the Hereafter, but it will not be regarded for him as the honorable act of migration.

In general, his actions will be evaluated according to the worldly benefits he intended whether they are permitted, or forbidden. He will receive punishment for committing a forbidden act.

Intentions and Acts of   Worship

Explain the relationship between our intentions and acts of worship.

In Islam, Niyyah (intention) is a compulsory part of every act of worship. The intention place is in the heart. It is not necessary to express it in words. The validity of the act of worship depends upon the sincerity of the intention behind it.

• If the intention is sincerely for the sake of Allah, the act of worship is correct and accepted.
• If the intention is not for the sake of Allah then the act of worship is incorrect and rejected. For example, if somebody prays just to please his parents, or for showing off, or for fame, with no intention to obey Allah, his prayer is corrupted and rejected and he will be punished for it, because it is an act of hypocrisy. There are many tradition that support this understanding, for example:
• The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “On the Day of resurrection deeds will be presented to Allah. From them, the deeds done sincerely for Allah’s sake will be separated, and the rest will be thrown in the Fire of Hell”[4]
• The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whosoever prays to show off, he is associating a partner with Allah. Whosoever fasts to show off, he is associating a partner with Allah. Whosoever gives a charity to show off, he is associating a partner with Allah”[5].
• A Bedouin asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): “A man fights for booty, a man fights for fame, and a man fights for pride, who is from among them fighting for Allah’s cause?” The Prophet said :”It is he, who is fighting to make the word of Allah the higher”[6]
• As it is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The first man (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment, will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought for judgment. Allah will make him recount His blessings (i.e. the blessings which Allah had bestowed upon him) and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his life). (Then) will Allah say: What did you do (to requite these blessings)?
• He will say: I fought for You until I died as a martyr.  Allah will say: You have told a lie. You fought so that you might be called a “brave warrior”. And you were called so. (Then) orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged with his face downward and cast into Hell.
• Then there will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur’an. He will be brought, Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime).
• Then will Allah ask: What did you do (to requite these blessings)?  He will say: I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur’an, seeking Your pleasure. Allah will say: You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called “a scholar”, and you recited the Qur’an so that it might be said: “He is a Qari” and such has been said.
• Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire.  Then will be brought a man whom Allah had made very rich and had him granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought, Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them and (admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime).  Allah will (then) ask: What have you done (to requite these blessings)?  He will say: I spent money in every cause in which You wished that it should be spent.  Allah will say: You are lying. You did (so) that it might be said about (you): “He is a generous fellow”, and so it was said. Then will Allah pass orders and he will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into Hell^“[7]

Intentions and Ordinary Deeds

Explain the relationship between our intentions and ordinary deeds.

Any ordinary deed is regarded as an act of worship if the intention behind it is to obey and please Allah alone, and man will be rewarded for it as a good deed.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah will reward you for whatever you spend with the intention of gaining Allah’s pleasure even  if  it were a mouthful of food you put into your wife’s mouth.”[8]

Mua’aath Ibn Jabal used to say : “I expect Allah (Subhanhu wa Taa’la) to reward me for my sleep as I expect Him to reward me for my night prayers, because I sleep with the intention to strengthen myself for the prayer”

Mixed Intentions and Acts of Worship

1. Will the act of worship be accepted if it is backed with intention to please Allah, but mixed with other purposes? Give an example.

There are two opinions in this issue:

First Opinion:

The act of worship which is not done purely for Allah, will be rejected no matter whether the other purpose, mixed with the intention behind it, is hypocrisy, showing off, fame, or seeking worldly benefits. Moreover the person might be punished for hypocrisy by seeking pride and fame in carrying out acts of worship. There are many traditions that support this point of view:

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said :”Allah shall not accept a deed mixed with a weight of a mustard seed of hypocrisy”
2. A man asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) : “What do you think about a man who fights for both the reward of Allah and fame in this life ? The Prophet said :”Nothing for him”. Then he  repeated his question three times. Every time the Prophet replied :”Nothing for him”. Then he said :”Allah accepts nothing (of deeds ) save that which is intended purely  for His Face” [9]
3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “He who fights for Allah’s sake with no intention but getting a tethering rope, will get nothing but what he intended.” [10]
4. In another tradition the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When  Allah  gathers all people, the first and the last, for the Day of  Judgment a caller will call: “Whoever did a  deed associating a partner with Allah let him seek his reward from those whom he associated with Allah. Verily Allah is  in need for no partners”[11]

Second Opinion:

This opinion distinguishes between the intention mixed with hypocrisy or showing off, and the intention mixed with worldly benefits beside obeying Allah. It agrees with the first opinion, if the intention is tainted with shirk, hypocrisy, showing off, or name and fame, or the desire to please others beside Allah, then it will make the action invalid and rejected.

But if one makes an intention to obey Allah but at the same time wants to achieve some worldly benefits, he will be fully rewarded for his obedience with the following conditions:

• his main intention is to obey Allah,
• his intention for those worldly benefits is secondary,
• and those worldly benefits will not imperfect his act of obedience to Allah,

That is because Allah (Subhanhu wa Taa’la) allowed Muslims to seek  worldly benefits during the season of Hajj while performing the rites of  pilgrimage: “There is no harm in seeking some worldly benefits from your Lord (at the time of Hajj)”

However, one must be careful because his reward may be decreased if those worldly benefits imperfect his acts of obedience to Allah.

Do compliments of people reduce our reward?

The prophet (peace be upon him) was asked: “Would a man, who did good deeds purely for Allah, then people appreciated these deeds and praised him for them, get his full reward from Allah?”  He said: “Yes, this (their praising) is an immediate glade tiding for the believer”[12]. 

The prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized in this tradition that it is the intention that counts; so long as the intention is purely for Allah’s sake nothing will corrupt the deed and the person will get his reward fully .

1. Assume some body has intentions to do a righteous act but he/she is not able to do it. Would he/she be rewarded for the good intentions?

Good intentions, in Islam, compensate the inabilities of the person. If a person wants to do a righteous act, but he/she is unable to do it because of poverty, health problems, or lack of resources then Allah (Subhanhu wa Taa’la), who knows the secrets of the hearts, will reward him/her fully according to his/her intentions.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was preparing for the military campaign of  Tabook, then some people complained that they had no money and asked him to help them to prepare themselves in order to take part in the campaign. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not find enough to give them they returned with broken hearts and tears in their eyes for not being able to fight for Allah’s cause. And in them the verses that follow were revealed:

“Nor (is there a blame upon those) who came to you to be provided with mounts, and when you said: “I can find no mounts for you”, they turned with tears in their eyes of grief that they had no resources wherewith to provide expenses”[13]

Do you think this strong faith could be wasted and this burning desire for Jihad could just be lost?  Verily, no weight of an atom of good deed is wasted in the sight of Allah. The prophet (peace be upon him) made it clear to them that their faith is appreciated and they are fully rewarded for their good intentions as if they were  joining him. He said to those who accompanied him in Jihad : “There are people whom we have left behind in Madinah, yet they are with us in whatever a place or a valley we may be. Their excuses prevented them from joining us”.[14]  

Because they were honest in their intentions they received the full reward of those who went for Jihad even though they did not leave Madinah.

Awareness of  Intentions

Monitoring our motivations plays a great role in our success in this life and the Next. It helps us recognize the purpose behind our actions, whether it is to please Allah, or something else; and this is a great step toward a better understanding of ourselves because it enables us to resolve the conflicting motivations in our hearts, refine our attitudes, and reform our life.

How can we purify our intentions?

The sincere Muslim intentions must be purely for Allah’s sake. He should struggle to reform his intentions and purify them from mixed wrong intentions such as : Shirk[15], hypocrisy, fame, pride, arrogance, envy, hatred, revenge, anger, jealousy, selfishness, too much love of this world, wickedness, self worship, … etc.

The aim of his good deeds should be free from ill motives, self desires, seeking people’s pleasures, or expectations of worldly benefits such as rewards, acknowledgement, leadership, position, or wealth, as the Holy Quran says: “Do not follow the lust (of your heart), for it will mislead you from the Path of Allah.” (38:26)

The holy Quran tells the following story:

“And they give food, out of love for it, to the poor and the orphan and the captive. We only feed you for Allah’s sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks. Surely we fear from our Lord a stern, distressful day”[16].

The interpreters of Quran mentioned that these verses point to the story of a couple[17] who were fasting and prepared a loaf of bread to break their fast, then a poor man knocked their door asking for food. They gave him the loaf of bread, in spite of their need for it and said: “Verily we are feeding you for Allah’s sake we do not expect from you a reward or thanks”.  In next two days, the same thing happened with an orphan and a captive. The holy Quran praised them and promised them great reward in the Gardens of Joy for their matchless sacrifices, hoping only for the pleasure of Allah on the Last Day and wanting no reward nor thanks from people.

The Hardest Task

Reforming our intentions is one of the hardest tasks for a believer; it is the key of success both in this life and in the Hereafter because it helps us improve our conduct. It purifies our hearts, lightens up our way, and brings happiness, harmony, and peace to our life.

The prophet (peace be upon him) once said after returning from a battle :”We returned from the minor Jihad[18] to the major Jihad, the Jihad against ourselves”.

That is why it is said in Islam that the greatest Jihad is the struggle against the evil of ourselves. The prophet (peace be upon him) directed us to turn to Allah (Subhanhu wa Taa’la) in our prayers (Dua’a) seeking refuge in Him from the evils of ourselves and asking Him to help us purify our hearts from ill motives and desires. Allah is well aware of the most hidden secrets of our souls; He knows our strength and weakness as Quran says:

“By a soul and by He (Allah) Who perfected it. And inspired it with what is wrong and what is right”[19]

Islamic scholars indicated that reforming intentions is a very hard task; it is the foremost holy struggle.

Sufian Ath-Thawry :”I found nothing harder than reforming my intentions because they keep changing”.

Yahia Ibn Katheer used to say: “Learning how to purify the intention behind a good deed is far important than the good deed itself”

Dawood At-Ta’ee siad : “I see that all goodness in life is in nothing but good intentions”

Al-Imam Ahmad said: Before you do anything, check your intention (niyyah) – ask yourself before performing an action: “Is it for the sake of Allah?”

In fact, a little deed with good intention is much better than mountains of good deeds with mixed intentions.

• The prophet (peace be upon him) said :”Purify your faith, a little righteous deed will be sufficient for you” Al-Hakem
• A man of the tribe of Bani Saleem said:” Allah’s messenger came to me and said,: “If anybody comes on the Day of Resurrection who has said: “There is no god save Allah (La ilaha illal-lah)”, sincerely, with the intention to win Allah’s Pleasure, Allah will make the Hell-Fire forbidden for him.” Muslim

1. In the light of the Hadeeth , explain the concept of worship in Islam.

Correcting our tendencies, inclinations, intentions and keeping them above worldly desires elevates man’s worldly acts and makes them acts of worship. On the other hand corrupted intentions make acts of worship doom to failure and loss. If  kernel is rotten, the beautiful outer skin will not be of any use. As long as man keeps himself  obedient and loyal to Allah,  all his acts and movements, his sleep, his waking, his rest, eating, drinking, the money that he spends, his job, …etc. are counted as righteous deeds and acts of worship for him. Even when a man sleeps with his wife, if it is accompanied with the intention to guard their chastity and protect their faith, they will be rewarded for it as a righteous deed.

1- The prophet (peace be upon him)  said “Verily there is a charity in your private parts” They said :”O Prophet of Allah ! could one of us enjoy himself and yet be rewarded for it ? ” The Prophet said : “If he puts it in Haram, is it not a sin for him?” They answered : Yes. He said : “And if he puts it in Halal it is a righteous deed for him”.

2- The prophet (peace be upon him)  said: “No body builds a building or plants a plant with no intention of oppression or aggression, but he will be continuously getting a reward form Allah so long as any of the creatures of Allah are benefiting from them.”  Ahmad

3- The prophet (peace be upon him)  said: “No Muslim lays a garden or plants a plant but he will continually receive a reward form Allah so long as a man or a bird eats from its fruit” Muslim

Also, whatever man spends to sustain his life and the life of his dependents: his wife, children, is nothing but a charity for him.

The prophet (peace be upon him) said :”Whatever you feed yourself is a charity for you, whatever you feed your child is a charity for you, whatever you feed your wife is a charity for you, whatever you feed your servant is a charity for you”[20]

Do not Waste your Good Deeds

As sincerity and honesty turn the good intention into a great achievement, hypocrisy and insincerity turn a righteous act into an evil deed that deserves a punishment. Such hypocrisy has been condemned in Quran :

“So woe for those who pray; those who are neglectful of their prayers, those who want but to be seen (of men), and refuse to supply even small needs”[21]   In another verse : “Waste not your charity by reminders and injuries, like him who spends his wealth to be seen by men and believes not in Allah”[22]

Sunnah emphasizes that intentions alone could elevate man or degrade him:

• The prophet (peace be upon him) said, : “The world has only four types of people:
• A man whom Allah provides with money and knowledge, in which he fears his Lord and joins the ties of kinship, acting in it with that which  pleases Allah, this man is in the most excellent rank.
• And a man whom Allah provides with knowledge but not with money, who says with a sincere intention that if he had money he would act as so and so does, their reward is equal.
• And a man whom Allah provides with  money but not with knowledge, in which he acts with ignorance in a random manner, not fearing His Lord, or using it to join the ties of kinship, or dealing with it in a right way, this man is in the worst rank.      
• And a man whom Allah provides with neither money nor knowledge, who says, with determination, that if he had money he would deal with it as so and so does and with this intention, the load of the sins they have to bear is equal.”[23]

Be wise
Muslims, men and women, should be intelligent and wise people who employ all their talents and efforts in the cause of higher objectives to please Allah. If they do so they will contribute to the progress and prosperity of themselves and their community and humanity at large.

Disease of  Hypocrisy

Islam fights hypocrisy because the diseases that grow out of it are so many that they destroy faith, morals, and eventually corrupt the entire society. Hypocrisy is so hidden disease that its evils are even hidden from the sight of the sinner himself. That is why the evils of hypocrisy are very dangerous because they could not be easily recognized by people.

Muslims Nowadays

It is regrettable that many Muslims are suffering from diseases of insincerity and hypocrisy. Their life revolves around this world only. They consider this world the axis of their existence forgetting about the Hereafter. They care for nothing but worldly gains such as: wealth, money, bank accounts, big nice houses, good comfortable cars, ranks, promotions, good made cloths, luxurious furniture, and easy life.  In short, they made their desires master their life and became wealth-worshippers, the self-worshippers, the slaves of positions, and the slaves of dollar and dinar.

There is a big difference between those wise people who use the resources of the life of this world for pleasing Allah and those who sacrifice their religion for the sake of little gains in this life of this world.  Those who purify their intentions will experience relief and comfort in this world and attain eternal blessing in the Hereafter.  And those who have allowed their evil motivations to rule their life will bring destruction   not only to themselves, but will also to the entire society.

In the light of the Hadeeth explain how can the Muslim achieve sincerity?

To achieve sincerity the good deed must be intended for Allah’s sake alone, i.e., fulfilling one’s obligations toward Allah, fearing Him, pleasing Him, hoping for His reward, fearing His punishment, obeying Him and His messenger, or supporting His cause. This means that sincerity is to be truthful and honest with Allah. In fact, the first part of the Shahadah : “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah”, emphasis this meaning; i.e., everything good we do must be solely intended for the sake of Allah and Allah alone. To achieve sincerity we have to:

1. avoid all forms of Shirk[24], both minor and major, in beliefs and deeds;
2. avoid hypocrisy in beliefs and actions;
3. purify our intentions of showing off, self-desires, pride, name and fame;
4. purify our intention from inclinations to please people, win their praises avoid their blames, giving them false impressions, seeking their help, or serving them to achieve some gains;
5. purify our intention from the diseases of the heart such as arrogance, showing off, envy, hatred, revenge, anger, jealousy, selfishness, wickedness, self-worship, or too much love and attachment to the life of this world;
6. purify our intention from motivations for worldly gains such as position, leadership, wealth, money, promotions, marriage, or pleasures of life, … etc.
7. seeking a worldly returns from our actions such as benefits, rewards, or recognition;
8. strengthen our Iman because weakness of Iman leads to insincerity and increasing our Iman enhance sincerity.
9. strive hard in good deeds and acts of obedience because the more good deeds we do the more sincere we will be.
10. avoid acts of disobedience because Iman increases by acts of obedience and decreases by acts of disobedience.
11. seeking knowledge is an important factor in improving our Iman and sincerity. Our actions/deeds should be guided by knowledge so that we do them in accordance to the Shari’ah.
12. strive hard to fulfill our obligations toward Allah and people, or our certainly weaken sincerity.

Muslims Duty 

We, Muslims, should realize that sincerity is extremely necessary in all acts of life whether they are religious acts or ordinary acts. It is the duty of every person to carry out his responsibility in the best manner he can. Everyone should do his best to make all his acts, interests, relationships and ambitions in the cause of Allah and prefer whatever is with Allah to the gains of the life of this world.

Benefits from the Hadeeth  

1. Deeds are judged according to the intentions behind them.
2. It is up to Allah to judge deeds because He alone is well aware of the intentions behind them.
3. Intentions mixed with hypocrisy, showing off, or fame make acts of worship invalid.
4. Worldly acts are elevated to the rank of acts of worship if the intentions behind them is for good purpose and to win the pleasure of Allah.

[1] . The founder of Ash-Shafeiah school

[2] . The science of deducing Islamic laws, rules, and  regulations

[3] . Narrated by Muslim

[4] . Narrated by Al-Bihaqyy

[5] . Narrated by Imam Ahmad

[6] . Narrated by both Al-Bukhari and Muslim

[7] . Narrated by Muslim

[8] . Narrated by Muslim

[9] . Narrated by Imam Ahmad

[10] . Narrated by Muslim

[11] . Narrated by Imam Ahmad and others.

[12] . Narrated by Muslim

[13] . Surat  At-Tawbah, Chapter (9), Verse  92

[14] . Narrated by Al-Bukhari

[15] . To associate partners with Allah

[16] . Surat Al-Insan, Chapter (76), Verses  8:10

[17] . Fatimah the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and her  husband Ali May Allah be pleased with them both.

[18] . Jihad means to exert an effort for God’s sake. Fighting  is one form of Jihad.

[19] . Surat Ash-Shams, Chapter (91), Verses: 7,8

[20] . Narrated by Imam Ahmad

[21] . Surat  Al-Ma’un, Chapter (106), Verse 4:7

[22] . Surat  Al-Baqrah, Chapter (2), Verse

[23] . Narrated by Imam Ahmad and others

[24] . Associating partners with Allah